Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Colfax, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Colfax and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Colfax
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
- To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Colfax:
- 39.100352, -120.952795
- Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Colfax
- Bird Watching ...
- We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
- The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Placer County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Placer County
- Since Colfax is near Nevada County and also El Dorado County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Nevada County
- eBird sighting report for El Dorado County
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Colfax ...
We found 32 communities that share the name Colfax.
Within California, the name Colfax is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another 32 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 32 communities, 31 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Bulloch County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Colfax [Bulloch County].
- Marion County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Colfax [Marion County].
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Chautauqua County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Colfax [Chautauqua County].
- Elk County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Colfax [Elk County].
- McPherson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Colfax [McPherson County].
- Montgomery County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Colfax [Montgomery County].
- Osage County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Colfax [Osage County].
- Osborne County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Colfax [Osborne County].
- Wilson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Colfax [Wilson County].
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Bay County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Colfax [Bay County].
- Mecosta County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Colfax [Mecosta County].
- Oceana County
- This Colfax is located in Oceana County and lies 1,820 miles [2,929 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Colfax that is located in Placer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oceana County community of Colfax.
- Minnesota
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Allegheny County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Colfax [Allegheny County].
- Huntingdon County
- This Colfax is located in Huntingdon County and lies 2,259 miles [3,635.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Colfax that is located in Placer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Huntingdon County community of Colfax.
- Saskatchewan
- This Colfax lies 1,119 miles [1,800.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Colfax that is located in Placer County.
- Texas
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Colfax ...
As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.
- Cape Horn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Eden Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Valley
- Eden Valley is located in Placer County
- Heather Glen
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heather Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heather Glen
- Heather Glen is located in Placer County
- Illinoistown ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Illinoistown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinoistown
- Illinoistown is located in Placer County
- Iowa Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Hill
- Iowa Hill is located in Placer County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iowa Hill <5>
- Peardale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Pinecrest
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Plumtree Crossing
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plumtree Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumtree Crossing
- Plumtree Crossing is located in Placer County
- Secret Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Secret Town have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Secret Town
- Secret Town is located in Placer County
- Shady Glen
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Glen
- Shady Glen is located in Placer County
- Twin Pines
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Pines
- Twin Pines is located in Placer County
- Yankee Jims
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yankee Jims have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
- Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
How Far From Colfax to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Colfax to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Colfax and extending to:
- Auburn, which is the Seat of Placer County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Colfax to Auburn, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 45 miles [72.4 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,333 miles [3,754.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 92 days and walking would take 133 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,301 miles [11,749.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,069 miles [12,985.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,118 miles [9,846 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Colfax: www.ci.colfax.ca.us/
The official website for Placer County: www.placer.ca.gov/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Colfax) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Colfax. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1004, Longitude: -120.9528 |
| <2> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Colfax, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Colfax could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <4> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day. |
| <7> | The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Colfax to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 339.109 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 339.908 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.256 degrees. |